IMPACT VISION VALUES OUR PURPOSE We connect our community through culture. We add vibrancy, promote pride of place, create jobs, encourage engagement and regeneration.

Image: Aleksandra Warchol OUR WORK

The Culture Trust is a vibrant and progressive charitable trust with a focus on arts and culture. Established in 2008, we welcome everyone to engage with our inspiring and animated cultural venues which include museums, theatres, an arts centre, gardens, libraries and creative workspaces.

We encourage individuals and groups to enjoy and learn about arts and culture, engage with heritage and use their talents and skills to grow their careers.

We actively support and showcase artistic talent, creativity and skill and provide opportunities for everyone to take part in reading, writing, performing, making, creating, experimenting, discussing, collaborating and presenting culture.

“Thank you very much for giving me this wonderful opportunity to show my work at the Storefront Gallery and engage with the audiences of Luton. I really appreciate all of your inspiring comments and feedback.” — Yva Jung Artist

Image: The Culture Trust OUR OUR PRIORITIES VISION

Our vision is to be an award winning cultural trust providing exemplary public engagement with arts and culture.

Our strategic aim is to be financially sustainable by 2025 by generating over 50% of our income through our activity, facilities and trading.

1 WIDENING REACH We encourage more people, particularly from our diverse community, to enjoy and learn about arts and culture, engage with heritage and use their talents and interests to make a difference.

2 TALENT DEVELOPMENT We provide support for emerging artists and creative practitioners through creative workspaces, bursaries, residencies and partnerships that promote and showcase talent at all stages.

3 SUSTAINABILITY We use our resources effectively and we demonstrate the value and impact of our charitable work. We manage sustained reduction in the environmental impact of our organisation, our activities, processes and systems. Image: The Culture Trust OUR BRAND

After 11 successful years as an independent Cultural Trust, we are proud to launch our new iconic brand inspired by Luton’s manufacturing and hatmaking heritage, architectural gems and the bringing together of our diverse community through culture.

The keystones in our new logo form the letter C – for Culture – and represent the different functions of our organisation coming together as a collection under one Trust.

The Culture Trust's collection of venues. Images: The Culture Trust OUR OUR REACH FUNDING

Every year we welcome over 900,000 visitors “Creative industries contribute significantly to making our to our free of charge venues across Luton. towns vibrant and interesting places in which to live and work. Luton is already recognised as a national hotspot

Count by The map below highlights where our for creating jobs in this sector. So, it’s important that we postal district local and regional audience come from – support the Culture Trust in continuing to enhance good 1 – 298 spreading across Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire quality spaces through cultural activation and to nurture 299 – 1127 and Buckinghamshire. The darker areas of local talented people through developments like their 1128 – 2071 2072 – 4375 pink show where we have a higher density transformational Hat District.” 7376 – 11478 of users and repeat visits. — Hilary Chipping Chief Executive, SEMLEP We’re very grateful to all our funders Image: Experian Ltd. for supporting and enabling our work. Regular funding from Luton Borough Biggleswade Wilstead Council, London Ltd. and Marston Arts Council England is the cornerstone to Moretaine our success. This funding underpins our

Brogborough ability to provide free venues, manage and Clophill Henlow Odsey care for our collections and heritage, provide Ridgmont Arlesey Silsoe library services and widen engagement with Caldecotte Flitwick free and subsidised cultural activity. Baldock

Barton-le-Clay We actively fundraise to deliver new and exciting work, grow cultural resources and Hitchin invest in skills and talent. Thank you to our Hockliffe Leighton Charlton project funders: Buzzard Stevenage Wing • South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership (Local Growth Fund) Luton

Knebworth • Arts Council England • National Lottery Heritage Fund Watton at Stone • Historic England Welvyn • Architectural Heritage Fund • DCMS Wolfson Welwyn Aston Clinton Garden City

Halton Wigginton

Hatfield Hemel Bourne End Hempstead St Albans

Welham Green Our PRIDE values define who we are and what we do

Passionate Relevant Inspiring Distinctive Ethical PASSIONATE

We do this by animating and making publicly accessible the following cultural venues:

WARDOWN HOUSE MUSEUM & GALLERY An eclectic and changing collection of curiosities, Luton objects, country house items, Royal regiment and the most complete hat collection in the UK. Images: The Culture Trust LIBRARIES STOCKWOOD DISCOVERY CENTRE Welcoming and well resourced with over Beautiful walled gardens, courtyard, café , 200,000 books and over 35,000 e-books across woodland and museum which includes the Luton Central Library, , , Mossman Carriage Collection which is the , and . largest in Europe! LUTON LIBRARY THEATRE THE HAT FACTORY ARTS CENTRE Popular with families and schools, this 238 Newly refurbished in 2019, this well loved arts seat theatre hosts over 70 events each year venue offers a diverse programme of live including touring productions, family theatre, music, theatre, film and arts workshops lit up comedy, music and spoken word. by familiar landmark ‘Beacon’ by Mark Titchner. WELL & WISE HAT HOUSE & HATWORKS Provides a neutral environment for health 2 former hat factories are being renovated to organisations to offer advice for a wide provide creative workspace for emerging and range of physical and mental health issues established creative entrepreneurs whilst in central library. regenerating heritage. MUSEUMS COLLECTION STORE STOREFRONT GALLERY Where we conserve and care for over A new project space to showcase local and 2 million artefacts with our specialist team international contemporary artists, offer talks and who also promote and share the collection lectures and community engagement projects. locally, nationally and internationally. WE ENCOURAGE YOUNG PEOPLE TO HAVE A LOVE OF READING RELEVANT In 2018, our Libraries’ Summer Reading Challenge saw 3,058 children taking part, up 8% on 2017 and 353 children joined our We employ 139 people in our team and over libraries to take part in the challenge. 2250 Museum Makers and Library Makers, WE CREATE AFFORDABLE AND volunteers inspired to support our heritage ACCESSIBLE FAMILY ARTS EXPERIENCES sites and projects on a regular basis. Enchanted Stockwood, our new winter light show at Stockwood Discovery Centre, attracted over 5,500 visitors in 11 evenings during December 2018.

Our relevancy to our local communities is at the core of our success. We programme events and provide opportunities that our customers “Getting the arts and culture offer right has the ability value and need, playing our part in raising the to transform Luton and most importantly the health profile of Luton and making a difference. and wellbeing of our residents, particularly those most disadvantaged. The Culture Trust is well recognised for its positive role in delivering arts and culture and shares our determination to make Luton a fantastic and vibrant cultural destination enjoyed by residents and visitors and boosting our economy.” — Robin Porter Chief Executive,

WE’RE PROVIDING PRACTICAL WORKSHOPS TO GROW SKILLS… Over 5,000 people have actively engaged in workshops led by artists in Storefront Gallery.

We commission artists to animate Luton and provide commentary about our town. Our Hat District art project engaged 42 artists in producing new work.

WE STIMULATE DEBATE Through our programme to raise awareness locally and nationally on relevant subjects such as mental health, identity, gender, social Images: The Culture Trust unrest and equality. INSPIRING

We entertain, stimulate and excite our audiences and customers through our cultural activities.

Our engagement levels tell us that we’re getting things right and that we are inspiring communities to be active in arts and culture. The numbers speak for themselves…

Our team are inspiring specialists and ambassadors for culture who welcome visitors and share their knowledge with all. In 2018 we attracted 200,000 visits to Stockwood Discovery Centre, 90,000 to Wardown House Museum & Gallery, 80,000 to We inspire young people to connect with arts the Hat Factory Arts Centre and 550,000 visits and culture through drama, arts workshops, to our Libraries – that’s 920,000 visits in total! theatre, music, homework clubs and Rhymetime. In 2018 170,000 0–16 year olds and 21,000 17–25 year olds got involved. Our visitor profile shows we are 8.9% attracting a diverse audience 11.4% across our sites in both age range Our libraries are in the top quartile nationally and ethnicity. for e-book loans, highlighting the changing 8.7% 5.2% ways we’re accessing books and information 1.8% Asian/Asian British 11.4% and how we respond to customer needs. 3.4% Black/Black British 5.2% 6.9% Chinese/Chinese British 1.8% We present positive and diverse role models Multiple Heritage 3.4% 4.0% through our programmes. We provide White British 49.7% White Irish 4.0% platforms to showcase arts and cultural White Other 6.9% leadership and inform cultural career Other 8.7% choices. The diversity of our programme Prefer Not to Say 8.9% echoes the diversity of our community

49.7% and the demographic profile of our visitors mirrors that of Luton. DISTINCTIVE

We apply creative thinking to everything that we do. We recognise and respect the distinctive qualities of our local heritage and this informs Image: Peter Laponder our future direction. “The vision for developing an ambitious cultural quarter was impressive. Luton The Hat District creative cluster project is is fortunate to have such a talented arts a key example of our vision for the future, cultural trust, well deserving of the delivering new opportunities for the creative significant funding it has achieved.” sector and young people whilst creating — Purple Flag Assessment, May 2018 long-term sustainability for the Trust. We’re leading the development of new work, study and show spaces for creative industries, entrepreneurs and practitioners in the heart of Luton. We will provide the conditions, facilities and infrastructure that connects creative and talented people so they can innovate, collaborate and grow successful careers

THE HAT DISTRICT PROJECT WILL: Secure £10 million of investment into Luton from outside funders to renovate 3 former hat factories and build 1 new creative workspace by 2021. We have already secured £8m to date.

Develop 25,000 sq ft of new and bespoke creative workspace to support, develop and enable 133 new jobs in the creative sector.

Boost the local economy by attracting 135,000 additional visits to the Hat District by 2022.

2 of 4 sites will be open in 2019 – Hat Factory and Hat House. Hat Works and Hat Studios will be open in 2021. Visualisation of Hat House top floor creative workspace ETHICAL

Sustainability is a key focus for us and we are constantly looking for ways to be greener.

The Culture Trust team away day 2019 Initiatives implemented over the last year include:

40% OF OUR SUPPLIERS ARE LOCAL WELLBEING Luton, Bedfordshire and the adjoining We recently introduced free water at our sites counties. By 2022 we aim to increase this and removed plastic bottles. We’re changing figure to reduce our carbon footprint. our food & drink offers (more reduced sugar and fair trade products) to ensure we’re ethical, HOMEGROWN environmentally-friendly and nutritionally sound. We use fruit and vegetables grown in our own gardens to make nutritious food for the Garden BEING GREEN Café at Stockwood and have also removed all We’re reducing kilowatt use, paper & print open-fronted refrigeration in our cafés. use in all our workspaces with a target of being paper-free by 2022. We eliminate INCLUSION packaging and plastics wherever possible, We are over half way through our recycle widely, compost as much as we can programme of having our team autism (including 100% of our coffee grounds!) and dementia-friendly trained by 2022. RECYCLING INCOME HERITAGE CARE We are an ethical landlord. All of our rents Our project bringing unloved hat factories and room hire income is invested back back into use as creative spaces in the Hat into providing free and subsidised activity. District was recognised in December 2018 This helps us ensure that cost is not a with a Love Luton Award for Sustainability. barrier to cultural inclusion. EXCELLENCE IN THE MAKING

© 2019 Luton Cultural Services Trust Registered Charity No. 1122964 Company registration No. 06373488

Registered address: Luton Cultural Services Trust Luton Central Library St. George’s Square, Luton culturetrust.com Bedfordshire, LU1 2NG [email protected]